at the white house today to try to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff. in the meantime, harry reid referstojohnboehner'sleadership as a dictatorship. not helpful. >>> but first, to your top stories this morning -- retired general norman schwarzkopf died thursday at his home in tampa, florida, he's credited with devising the plan that drove saddam hussein's forces out of kuwait in 1991. known as stormin' norman for his strong personality. >>> the general said that he did agree with president george h.w. bush's decision not to follow saddam's decision into baghdad. >> ladies and gentlemen, when we here, we were 150 miles away from baghdad and there's nobody between us and bagsd. if our intention to take iraq, to destroy the country, if it had been our intention to overrun the country, we could have done it unopposed from this position at that time. >> schwarzkopf was honored for his service with the medal of freedom. queen elizabeth even awarded him with a knight hood. >>> former president george h.w. bush praised his leadership yesterday. general schwarzkopf is survived by his wife and three k

negotiationsandjohnboehnerandsenate leader are working on a deal this morning to avoid the fiscal cliff, or as chris hayes and i call it, the fiscal curve. the deadline is soft. it's not like every american is going to be handed a bill on january 1st and there's way to manage the damage if the country goes over. the senate is set to convene this afternoon with the house to follow tonight. there's a chance that a compromise will be reached, less than 48 hours before tax rates revert to their clinton dasher are levels and board across the board spending cuts talk effect. when the president took to the podium friday afternoon to urge the law enforcements to get their act together with he didn't exactly project confidence. >> this is deja vu all over again. america wonders why it is that in this town for some reason, you can't get stuff done in an organized timetable. why everything always has to wait until the last minute. we're now at the last minute. and the american people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. >> this may be why the pr

reidandjohnboehnerexchangeharsh words. the fiscal cliff in just five days and still no deal. the winter storm that slammed the south is now stranding thousands of travelers in the northeast and beyond. that is coming up. >>> and the russian president vladimir putin says he will sign a bill banning americans from adopting russian children. that's all ahead unless breaking news changes everything on "studio b." i'm trace gallagher in for shepard smith. first from fox at 3:00, back to work in washington, d.c. with less than five days to go before falls right off the fiscal cliff. the senate back in session today and it's the first time the senate or house has met for business between christmas and new year's in more than four decades. president obama cut his hawaii trip short arriving in washington early today. for now, the house of representatives is not in session but we've learned those lawmakers are set to return this weekend. today the senate majority leader, harry reid, says we've just about run out of time. >> if we go over the cliff, and that's where we're headed, mr. p

through the senate and doesn'tmakejohnboehnerlooktoo bad in the house and there are a lot of conservatives in the house that don't want to do any type of deal that would raise taxes on anybody even though they'll go up on the entire country the first tax hike in 20 years after monday night. >> and one would also assume that mitch mcconnell would have to back a grant, he could face a primary fight if this thing -- >> you touched on one of the great sub plots of these entire negotiations is personal things that boehner and mcconnell have in these negotiations. obviously, mcconnell doesn't want to have someone on the right come after him because he was in favor of a tax hike and john boehner's re-election as speaker of the house. and that would come across as a vote of no confidence. very embarrassing and they don't expect it happening and there's a lot at stake for mitch mcconnell and john boehner personally. great point you brought up. >> if the senate fails to come up with something, does the president have the votes? >> reporter: if harry reid got this through the senate,

. is it helpful tohavejohnboehnerhavehis members back in d.c. running their mouths and offering opinions to all us reporters, i think the answer is no. >> no inclination the $250,000 or below can pass through the senate right now, kay bailey hutchison said she wouldn't support that type of bill. what's harry reid left to do right now? >> i'm not sure $250,000 could get through the house or senate at this point. republicans are signaling, as kay bailey hutchison just did, they want to move to $500,000. i think that would be a tough lift considering president obama offered $400,000 with $2 trillion in deficit reduction. >> from where you sit right now, i mean, you're so into the house gop, jake, i'm surprised you didn't end up in boehner's suitcase, we look like we're going over. >> it looks like that's the case and that's what gop aides are telling us today, it's very difficult and democrats are saying this too, it's difficult to see a way we avert the fiscal cliff at this point with how slow the senate operates, no plan right now, house is nowhere, and it's almost january. >> highway to

standoff.johnboehnermaynot even bring the house back to town until the senate comes up with a possible plan. >> reporter: obama leaves his tropical retreat in hawaii for a wintry washington, tension on capitol hill is on high. >> i don't so how you could hammer out any kind of a grand bargain or large plan involving tax reform and entitlement changes in a matter of days. >> reporter: serious doubt is setting in. even starbucks is getting involved, writing "come together" on its cup. speaker john boehner says he's sitting this round out after failing to get enough house republicans to support his own plan just before christmas. >> i think boehner is being controlled unfortunately by the right wing. >> reporter: that leaves it up to majority leader harry reid and the rest of the senate to find a possible solution. aides say reid's plan would avoid tax increases for people making less than $250,000, eliminate big spends cut and restore unemployment benefits. >> i think you're likely to see a two-step process here. one sort of dealing with the immediate dynamic so you can deal with the lar

is gettinginvolved.johnboehnersaidhe is sitting this round out. >> i thinkthatjohnboehnerisbeing controlled unfortunately by the right wing pickwick that leaves it up to harry reid and the rest of the senate to find a solution. the plan would avoid tax increases and would eliminate some big spending cuts and restore unemployment benefits. >> you are likely to see a two- step process. >> without a deal, bush era tax cuts will expire on january 1. congress set up the deadline hoping it would force a compromise. so far that has a compromise in. also flyback will be brian schatz. he will be replacing daniel inouye and will likely be sworn in later today. danielle leigh, wbal-tv 11 news. >> with the new year comes new state laws. >> kim dacey has more on what to expect. >> on tuesday, a dozen new state laws will go into effect. some were highly discuss. one allows gay couples to marry as of january 1. baltimore city elections will now be held in the same cycle as the presidential elections. for veterans, the department of veterans affairs will be required to give out something of thei

. they are nothere.johnboehnerseemsto care more about keeping his speakership than about keeping the nation on firm financial footing. >> harris: a spokesman for john boehner fired back "senator reid should talk less and legislate more." and senate minority leader mcconnell saying we should have worked all this out months ago. >> and republicans aren't about to write a blank check or anything senate democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. >> harris: tonight, that is exactly where we stand. at the edge of a cliff throwing blame for how you we got here. a lot of finger pointing and no answers as i said and just days remaining until tax increases and spending cuts all kick in and we all feel the pain. mike emanuel live with the news for us tonight on capitol hill. top democrats seem to be suggesting they cannot cut a deal without republican help. >> well, harris, that is right. and so they are asking what it will take to at least get some republican support. they say time is so critical. they cannot just roll out new legislation only to have the republic

obama cutting his vacation short to avoid the fiscal cliff but housespeakerjohnboehnersaysthe people who need to take action are not in the oval office. >>> as the investigation continues into the deaths of four americans in libya we're learning people who were initially blamed are back on the payroll with little or no punishment. >>> unbelievable video. some aquariumgoers getting way too close to a real live shark. as close as you can get without becoming dinner. it is all "happening now." harris: hello, everyone, i'm harris faulkner, in today for jenna lee. jon: nice to have you up here in the big studio instead of down in the newsroom. harris: good to be here. jon: i'm jon scott. there is deadly weather pounding the united states. a powerful winter storm bringing snow and driving rain to the northeast. blizzard conditions in some areas. it is the same system that brought winter storms and tornados to the south and midwest. at least 12 people have died in this system. we're seeing major travel problems today as well. some areas are getting slammed all night long. anna ko

at the white house. >> underscoring that urgency, housespeakerjohnboehnersaysthe house will meet in a rare sunday session. >> reporter: it may already be too late. days before the fiscal cliff, and with the house of representatives out of town until sunday, senate majority leader harry reid admitted a deal seems unlikely. >> i have to be very honest, mr. president, i don't know time wise how it can happen now. >> reporter: in a scathing attack, reid called house speaker john boehner a dictator, and blamed him for letting members stay home with no deal in sight. >> we are here in washington, working. while the members of the house of representatives are out watching movies and watching their kids play soccer and basketball. john boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership. >> reporter: the republican leader responded saying it's democrats who failed to lead. >> make no mistake, the only reason the democrats have been trying to deflect attention onto me and my colleagues is that they don't have a plan of their own. >> reporter: president obama returned to washington for a last-m

the failure ofspeakerjohnboehner's planb last week, house members are saying the ball is now in the senate's court. >>> former president george h.w. bush is in the intensive care unit at a houston hospital this morning. according to a statement from the bush family the president has been in intensive care since sunday, after suffering a series of setbacks, including a persistent fever. they also say he's relentlessly positive and spends time talking and joking with his doctors. in the next hour we'll take to you houston for a live update on the president's condition. >>> it's called one of the largest lawsuits of its kind, toyota agrees to a $1.1 billion settlement. we'll tell you who benefits and if one of the people who benefits is you. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. time for citi price rewind. are only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi pri

connellandjohnboehnerrepresentingthe republicans. brianna keilar is live from washington. is anybody optimistic that a deal could be done today around a table? >> i will tell you the optimism is sort of sinking. senate majority leader harry reid said he doesn't see how it can get done by january 1st. we heard from president obama before he left from his vacation that he was optimistic. logistically the white house will tell you it's possible. when you listen to what you're hearing some of these congressional leaders say, there's a lot of posturing laying blame to the other side if we do go over the cliff. take a listen. >> republicans are not about to write a blank check for anything senate democrats put forward because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. >> we are here in washington working while the members of the house of representatives are out watching movies, watching their kids play soccer, basketball, doing all kinds of things. they should be here. >> now, house speaker john boehner is saying the senate needs to just take up a house pass bill that has already passed t

the details tonight. >> reporter: housespeakerjohnboehnerbackin washington immediately heading to the white house for a late afternoon fiscal cliff meeting which brought the president and congressional leaders together for the first time since november, but it's unclear if it brought country any closer to avoiding the fiscal cliff. >> i'm modestly optimistic that an agreement can be achieved. nobody is going to get 100% of what they want, but let's make sure that middle class families and the american economy and, in fact, the world economy aren't adversely impacted because people can't do their jobs. >> reporter: the president called the meeting as lawmakers pointed fingers in this high stakes game of chicken. >> it's republicans who are holding hostage the middle class in america so that the wealthy don't have to pay their fair share. >> we need two words, presidential leadership on not just taxing rich people, we could tax all the rich people and cut their heads off and it wouldn't help the medicare fiscal cliff. >> reporter: with time running out hopes for a grand bargain

than $250,000 a year should pay more. higher taxrate.johnboehnerfloateda plan that would have kept low rates for those making up to a million dollars. two house members talked to us earlier today about where the tax issue is likely heading. >> the $400,000 level seems to me to be about right. that represents about the top 1% of income earners in the country. we need to save tax hikes on as many americans as we can. i kind of feel like i'm a life guard and we got to save as many people from crown not guilty higher taxes as we can. >> the challenge is finding the right figure to win some republican support in the senate and attract enough votes to pass the house. kelly. >> kelly: interesting comment right there, feeling like a life guard. many people are wondering if they're going to do that on capitol hill. thanks so much. going to be an interesting new year. watch fox sunday tomorrow. chris wallace talks with lindsey graham and nine fine stein. check your -- diane feinstein. >> heather: new york city police have a woman in custody who they believe killed a man by pushing him in fro

, good morning. it's a new day and a new standoff. this time, housespeakerjohnboehnerishinting he won't bring house members back to town until the senate comes up with a passable plan. as president obama leaves his tropical retreat in hawaii for a wintry washington, tension on capitol hill is on high. >> i don't see how you could hammer out any kind of a grand bargain or large plan involving tax reform and entitlement changes in a matter of days. >> reporter: serious doubt is setting in. even starbucks is getting involved, writing "come together" on its cups. speaker john boehner says he's sitting this round out after failing to get enough house republicans to support his own plan just before christmas. >> i think that boehner is being controlled, unfortunately, by the right wing. >> reporter: that leaves it up to majority leader harry reid and the rest of the senate to find a passable solution. aides say reid's plan would avoid tax increases for people making less than $250,000, eliminate some big spending cuts and restore unemployment benefits. >> i think you're likely to see a

.>>johnboehnerseemsto care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on firm financial footing. >> hopefully there's time for an agreement of some kind. >> speaker john boehner called the house back into session for a highly unusual sunday evening session just in case. >>> an unexpected consequence of the fiscal cliff stalemate could mean sticker shock at your grocery store. milk prices could soon spike to $8 a gallon. wow. congress has been so bogged down with the fiscal cliff, the farm bill is still on the table. if congress does not pass it, dairy subsidies would immediately end on january 1, and those subsidies have been keeping milk prices low for 63 years. >>> the price of curbside parking in chicago is going up january 1. parking meters will charge $6.50 an hour in the downtown area. chicago will have the highest parking meter rates in the country, taking the dubious distinction away from san francisco. congratulations. chicago outsourced its parking meters to a private company and many drivers question that question now. >>> now to some surveillance video from h

starbucks is gettinginvolved.johnboehnersaid is sitting this round out. he failed to get enough house republicans to support his own plan just before christmas. >> i think that john boehner is being controlled unfortunately by the right wing. >> that leaves it up to harry reid and the rest of the senate to find a solution. aides say the plan would avoid tax increases and would eliminate some big spending cuts and restore unemployment benefits. >> you are likely to see a two- step process. dealing with the immediate dynamics so you can set up a situation where you can do with the larger situation. >> without a deal, bush-era tax cuts will expire on january 1. congress set up the deadline hoping it would force a compromise. so for that has backfired. also flying will be brian schatz. he will be replacing daniel inouye and will likely be sworn in later today. danielle leigh, wbal-tv 11 news. >> another day and another standoff. -- we're moving on to another story. police are searching for a suspect in connection with an assault in randallstown. a man has been pistol whipped and was treat

and harry reid. republicans mitch mcconnellandjohnboehner. thosefour members of congress are expected to make the drive from the capital, which you see on the right, down pennsylvania avenue, to the white house, there on the left. and we expect them to enter through a side door on the west side of the mansion. that's the entrance right there. and they'll meet with the president. in the oval office. beginning, we're told, at 3:00 p.m., less than one hour from now. and just four days ahead of the so-called fiscal cliff. so a very big moment in the nation's capital. and to walk us through what might happen we turn to jessica yellin, a chief white house correspondent. jessica, we said up front, it is a long shot, give us a best case scenario. >> reporter: the best case scenario would be that all the leaders walk out of this meeting and say they have a deal. the two senators say they can bring it to a vote, and none of their members will filibuster it. house speaker john boehner says he will bring it to the house floor for a vote before new year's eve and house minority leader nancy pelosi

and the senate is coming back. the house is not. housespeakerjohnboehnerstayingin ohio. he says some contact, but communication is no substitute for senate action. it's all in the senate. >> juliet: all righty. log on to our web site for our after the show show because we're going to be giving you lots of gossip and secrets that you don't hear. >> kelly: really? >> juliet: yeah. >> clayton: that's news. i'll make sure i'm there. gregg: fox news alert. millions at the mercy of mother nature this morning after a massive storms slams the northeast bringing snow, rain, high winds, icy road conditions. more than 50 flights have been canceled today following the grounding of more than 1700 the day before. coming up in minutes we'll go live to anna kooiman live in scranton, pennsylvania where folks are trying to dig out from more than a foot of snow. but first, bad weather making be delaying lawmakers plans to get back to the negotiating table in washington, d.c. good morning, i'm gregg jarrett in "america's newsroom.". patti ann: freight to be with you again, gregg. i'm patti ann browne in for mar

is that the president basicallytoldjohnboehnerandmitch mcconnell the republican leaders in the room here for this meeting that he wants an up or down vote on his scaled back bill to try to avoid this fiscal cliff. and he basically turned on them and said so what's your response? what's your move? the next move is yours. and then i'm told that mitch mcconnell and harry reid, the democratic leader in the senate jumped in before john boehner really got a chance to fully respond and say, look, we will take the ball and try to pass a bipartisan bill in the senate. the president responded by saying i will give you a day or two but we're running out of time. if you don't get it done in the senate. i want an up or down vote. then he came out and addressed reporters in the briefing room it is clear that the president is only cautiously optimistic that this is going to take a look. take a listen. >> it if there are disagreements they sort through the disagreements. the notion that our elected leadership can't do the same thing is mind boggling to them. it needs to stop. i'm moderately optimistic t

an obligation to do the best we can and that was made very clear. >> brown: housespeakerjohnboehneraidessaid if the senate passes a bill the house will take it up and either accept or amend it and a short time ago president obama appeared in the white house briefing room with a statement. here is some of what he said. >> we had a constructive meeting today. senators reids and mcconnell are discussing a potential agreement where we can get a bipartisan bill out of the senate over to the house and done in a timely fashion so that we met the december 31st deadline. but given how things have been working in this town, we always have to wait and see until it actually happens. the one thing that the american people should not have to wait and see is some sort of action so if we don't see an agreement between the two leaders in the senate, i expect a bill to go on the floor. and i've asked senator reid to do this, put a bill on the floor that makes sure that taxes on middle-class families don't go up. that unemployment insurance is still available for 2 million people, and that lays the ground

and nancy pelosi leading republicans mitch mcconnell andjohnboehner. nodeal can be reached in past without their cooperation. with the meeting comes a glimmer of hope. in the past all the ifisical cliff talks meetings like this have been the least productive of all. whether he meant to or not the senate majority leader may have spoken for a nation exhausted by seemingly endless fiscal cliff negotiations. >> what's going on here? >> reporter: what indeed. president obama returned to the white house in a grim mood. he met with no congressional leaders and said nothing about his efforts to avert the fiscal cliff, talks continue between senior white house and congressional staff, but that's been true throughout this entire saga. with the deadline looming there were dire predictions. >> come the first of this year americans will have less income than they have today. >> reporter: and recriminations. >> now republicans have bent over backwards. we stepped way, way out of our comfort zone. we wanted an agreement. but we had no takers. >> reporter: the senate's top dem

like had been on the table in so-called plan a, the $4 trillion debt deal heandjohnboehnerhadbeen talking about for weeks. so we might see a small bit of spending cuts just to stave off the sequester, the massive amount of spending cuts that will kick in at the beginning of the year to harm the pentagon and other agencies. if they are getting anything, there are low expectations but if they get anything it will be a very small deal, something much smaller than they have been talking about for weeks, jon. jon: there aren't too many people these meetings. so a little hard to get an assessment, what is your idea, what is your best, yeah, assessment i guess how things are between some of these leaders? >> reporter: they have gotten pretty tense the last couple of days as they have come back from the christmas holiday. we saw yesterday senate majority leader harry reid basically accusing john boehner of running a deck tate toreship, that was his word in the house of representatives. reid piled on a little bit late yesterday afternoon and senate republican leader mitch mcconnell respond

to the call of the chair. >> reporter: congress recessed after republicansrejectedjohnboehner's compromise.he proposed letting tax cuts expire for those making over $1 million a year. other republicans say it's time for a deal. >> i agree with him. i don't think we ought to increase taxes on anyone. however, we're now at a point where we're not going to get what we think is right for our economy and our country. >> with congress coming back, the president will also reportedly cut short his holiday vacation in hawaii. democrats hope mr. obama will continue to fight for a complete agreement, not just a temporary patch. >> i definitely hope that he can and will continue to push for as big a deal as possible, but you've got to remember now, we're just a few days away. >> if no deal is reached over 2 million americans will lose their jobless benefits and workers will see a 2% cut in take home pay as social security payroll taxes go up january 1st. jennifer johnson, nbc news, washington. >> well, around this time of year, there is a big surprise that happens on the rockefeller center ice skatin

of housespeakerjohnboehnerbutlercounty, ohio, currently under a blizzard warning. house republican leaders holding a conference call earlier today on the fiscal cliff, but so far they have not yet called on lawmakers to return to capitol hill. but they have said they will give a 48 hour warning if they plan to do that the white house saying the president is cutting his holiday vacation in hawaii short to return to d.c. to work on a deal to try to stop those automatic tax hikes and deep spending cuts from kicking in on january 1st. and if they don't reach a deal before then, many economists say we will dip back into a recession. i had henly house republican leaders didn't have a lot of new information for their lawmakers. they would have 48 hour notice if they are needed to pray back to washington from various districts around the country. that tells us they are being noncommittal at this point because they frankly do not know whether or not there will be a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. now, after that conference call. the house speaker john boehner, his number two eric cantor the

something smaller in the wake ofspeakerjohnboehner's failureon so-called plan b last week. they just want something that will extend middle class tax cuts. they want to see two million people get unemployment benefits extended. those are running out at end of the year by the way the president, you remember, came out on friday after speaker boehner talked about the failure of the vote thursday night and president basically said everyone should calm down, cool off over the holidays. take a listen. >> everybody can cool off. everybody can drink some eggnog, have some christmas cookies, sing some christmas carols, enjoy the company of loved ones and then i would ask every member of congress while they're back home to think about that. think about the obligations we have to the people who sent us here. >> reporter: so, sing some carols today. probably will be some eggnog. here in hawaii, maybe back in ohio where john boehner is likely celebrating the holidays as well but they have got to seriously get back to work over the next couple days and top white house officials say we can expect t

right nowofjohnboehnerandpresidentobama.johnboehnerfromyour state of ohio. there are a lot of people that say if the deal were between these two guys, it would be made. the problem is john boehner can't agree to something with president obama and then take it back to his own party. >> well, and vice versa. a year ago august the president couldn't agree to the deal he needed another $400 billion in revenue. look, if the president and senator reid and john boehner all said to me today it's written, let's put simpson-bowles on the floor, i guarantee you given the urgency we could cobble together something to solve this problem but nobody is willing to pull the trigger. everybody wants to play the blame game. this blame game is about to put us over the edge. >> the problem, of course, which you don't personally face because you didn't run for this new congress is a poll that we have that was taken very recently that says -- we asked who would be more responsible if the fiscal cliff occurs. 48% of respondents say the gop in congress. 37% blame -- would blame president obama and

. the president does the best. but we have housespeakerjohnboehner, approvalis 26% and harry reid, 34%. doug, who steps up and shows some leadership at this moment? >> well, the president's overall approval rating is pretty high, i think, he is in the mid-50s, about the highest he has been in some time. i think it's going to be, in the short term, it's mcconnell and reid. can it pass the house? that will be up to john boehner's leadership. i think that john boehner wants to get something done. he is a deal maker. but he has 80, 90, 100 members in the caucus who refuse to take yes for an answer, as the president said. so i agreew on the overall issue of the debt. i think that's why the president put forward a plan on a grand bargain to get $4 trillion in deficit reduction, but that wouldn't have been able to pass the house. so, short term, mcconnell and reid, they are dealt makers. they have done this before. long term or over the next two, three, four week, it will be in john boehner's hands with the president doing a lot of prodding. >> i think that speaker boehner -- really it does depend

: sourcessayjohnboehnerreferredto his senate colleagues and told them house leaders would consider their plan. one item raising the debt limit is not expected to be a part of any final compromise. if senate leaders fail the president wants congress to vote his plan keeping tax cuts for making $250,000 a year less, extending unemployment benefits for some 2 million people and delaying spending cuts until later this year. white house officials that top senate republican will be a key force in getting a deal after he made these comments. >> we are engaged in discussions majority leader and white house in the hopes that we can come forward as early as sunday and have a recommendation that i can make to my conference and majority leader can make to his conference. >>> among the issues to be hammered out is income level for extending president bush tax cuts. they send it on $250,000 but it sounds like $400,000 is where negotiations are heading. a leading republican senator says permanent is key giving certainty on tax rates that g.o.p. senators say a permanent solution for the alternativ

't raise taxes and we shouldn't raise them at all but can't do morethanjohnboehner's planb, and didn't go to a vote. >> one for million. icle >> it would raise you billion in revenue. they were not for it in the first place but maybe get something through if obama willing to cut. obama administration said if you pass it in the house and september passed it, obama would veto it anyway. they are so far apart. this i am flying back from hawaii and see if i can bring them back together. they are far apart as they have been. >> kelly: why are they having the meeting? because of the talk and rhetoric is ramping up and the agreement is going down. i mean, for example, senate majority leader harry reid is name calling and calling john boehner a dictator . this is what he had to say. >> the american people i don't think the house representative is operating without the house of representative. it is being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker not allowing the vast majority of the house and representatives to get what they want. >> that sounds ridiculous f. it was a dictatorship boehner

war in a weekend. >> dave: he can get it done but there isstilljohnboehnerandthe house republicans. i'm not modestly optimistic. anything through the house at this point. >> juliet: like lindsey gram said two days ago when you call a meeting publicly in washington it usually turns out to be the dog and pony show or theater basically. honestly calling at this late hour. they met for an hour. what could really go down in that type of meeting? things can go down but really, it's just at the edge. they waited so long. they all went on their vacations. >> clayton: here are some things on the table to answer those questions perhaps. generalities. we don't know what's been tabled. democrats still strong about this. they say they were, yeah, here is -- take a look at this. keeping tax cuts for those making $250,000 a year or less. we know that's there. that may shift because we are hearing from republicans they may be willing to go as high as $500,000 a year. of the extended. >> dave: that's my guess. >> extending unemployment tax benefits for 2 million folks still unemployed.

on the democratic side. housespeakerjohnboehner, mitchmcconnell representing the republicans. brianna keilar live from washington. what do we expect to happen today? any new offers from the president or house speaker? >> we don't know. right now, all eyes on the senate to see what senate majority leader harry reid can cobble together to get some republican support. technically, it's still possible to come to an agreement. that said, politically is a different story, and the prospects for coming to a deal are starting to dim. right now, we're hearing a whole lot of the blame game. a lot of public posturing from both sides as they prepare for the possibility of going over the cliff. let's listen to harry reid. >> we are here in washington working while members of the house of representatives are out watching movies and watching their kids play soccer and basketball and doing all kinds of things. they should be here. >> now, the speaker of the house, john boehner, sort of retorting to reid, ali. in a conference call he said the leaders should do more -- or pardon me. less talking and more legis

of the reason, just like i don'tbelievejohnboehneractuallydoes the house speaker. there is this group in the middle, first of all they are not sure where the political blame would lie. it could end up on them and they want want to have that happen. second of all these are deal mayors. they came to washington to get deals done. and they see the result, the goal as a deal to get past this rather than looking at the numbers. the folks on each side eve are looking at the numbers and they say the deficit would be in better shape and the economy in the long run is in better shape. they are looking long term. the deal makers in the center are looking right now and say they are scared of the political consequences and we are not quite sure how the numbers end up, the last thing we need is a rescission. >> reporter: steve vin dinin in washington. thank you. >> reporter: new information on a horrified christmas eve tragedy as a note left by this ex-con suggests that he planned to kill first responders and possibly some of his own neighbors when he set this massive inferno, it happened on monday

a proposal fromspeakerjohnboehnerlastweek, and 48% of americans say they are to blame if no deal is reached. >> both sides here have a problem with the american people, and it's why congress has an 11% job approval rating. >> frank lund says americans are fed up with gridlock in washington. >> there is no compromise, and i think that's going to grow as a concern among the public as we move into 2013. >> even starbucks is urging both sides to compromise. its employees are now writing "come together" on coffee cups in all washington, d.c., area stores. now, if congress does not act, experts believe the economy will fall back into a mild recession, duarte, by mid-2013. >> it's a tough situation. tara mergener in washington. thanks. >> coming up on the "morning news," shark tank soaker caught on tape. the glass of an aquarium suddenly bursts, drenching spectators and sending fish flying. this is the "cbs morning news." one day george got an important letter. he's built a rocket ship to travel into space." google, how far is earth to the moon? the moon is 238,900 miles... "the great m

. it was the last offer from the presidenttojohnboehner, thehouse speaker, before negotiations collapsed. it would do a few other thing like take care of the alternative minimum tax, protect taxpayers from the expansion of that burden. it would also raise medicare reimbursements for doctors or prevent them from falling, rather, extend unemployment benefits. the irony is that this is a much worse deal for republicans than they could have had earlier because it's not likely to include spending cuts or reforms of entitlement programs. at this point, republicans are knowing that they'll lose the tax debate are trying to figure out what are the least bad terms they can lose on. >> you mention that income level of $400,000. earlier, the speaker of the house had floated what he called the plan b that would allow cuts to expire on those making $1 million or more. republicans would not support that. why would they support this? >> well, many of them will not support this. but the dynamic that they're looking at is one that if you have a bipartisan bill go through the senate and a significant numb

to a compromise but they have to sell ittojohnboehnerandfellow republicans before the deadline. >> president obama will be david gregory's exclusive guest on "meet the press" later this morning. you can watch his interview at 10:00 a.m. former president george h.w. bush is out of intensive care and said to be improving this morning. he is in a regular room at houston methodist hospital. a family spokesperson says the family thanks everyone for their prayers and good wishes. he is being treated for a cough. a lawyer for one of the survivors of the newtown school massacre says the state of connecticut didn't do enough to keep kids safe and wants to sue for $100 million. the attorney says the state failed to provide a safe setting for his clintd, an unidentified 6-year-old girl. he says after hearing gunfire, she was left with emotional scars. to howard county where police say they've cracked a string of burglaries that hit homes in columbia and ellicott city. nadia ramdass has the story. >> the alleged victim is concerned the man she accused of burglarizing her home will be on the streets agai

of representatives said, and i have it here somewhere, i don't want to be criticalofjohn, meaningjohnboehner, butif you don't ever bring something to the floor without the votes. so this is what happened last thursday night where he brought this bill to the floor, his plan b, and it went nowhere. was that a major miscalculation for him? >> it was. look, denny was the speakner nea different time. he could hand out projects to districts of wavering members. and he had a very tough leadership team that went out and got the votes. boehner is not a strong leader. he doesn't have the pork and the earmarks anymore since they've been banned. and a lot of the incoming -- or the folks that came in in 2010, the tea party folks, they look at the tom delay are era and say -- >> they're both long time qulil wat capitol hill watchers, and we have to ask you are you seeing any sway now in following boehner? is he losing support? >> obviously the fact that he thought that he would be able to bring the bill last week to the floor to raise taxes on everybody making a million dollars or more and then had to pu

're going to get something done. we heard from housespeakerjohnboehnerearliertoday. where is this? clearly it looks like now it's in the senate's hands. >> that's right. it is absolutely in the senate's handings, has been effectively since the house speaker failed to pass his so-called plan b proposal last week. and so what is going on behind the scenes right now, suzanne, is the senate democratic leader is trying to figure out if he can cobable together enough votes, which would mean he would have to have probably significant crossover to get some votes to at least pass the bear bare minimum to ahouseholds with incomes of less than $200,000. >> the speaker has just a few days left to change his mind but i have to be very honest, mr. president. i don't know time-wise how it can happen now. >> so there's a time issue because we're only five days away, but most importantly there's a political and process issue. the political issue we've talkeder this the last few days, suzanne. it's a question of whether or not there's enough lawmakers, willing to take the vote which would effective

. housespeakerjohnboehnerwillsee his salary increase to more than $224,000. and senate majority leader harry reid will take home an annual pay of $194,000 after his raise. so those guys are getting a raise. and if you are counting on a tax refund in the next few weeks, the fiscal cliff could force you to wait just a little bit longer than usual. >>> checking our top stories. the nation is now 14 hours away from the fiscal cliff. sources tell us vice president joe biden and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell talked through the night and vow to keep these negotiations going on today. the gridlock in washington could also hold up your tax refund. you might have to wait until late march to file if congress does not approve a short-term fix for the alternative minimum tax in the next few days. same issue two years ago delayed the opening of tax season by four weeks to mid-february. >>> former president george h.w. bush is still in a houston hospital but no longer in intensive care. bush was moved to regular patient room on saturday to continue his recovery. the 88-year-old was in

speakerjohnboehnerfailedto get his own bill through the house. so now things are in the s senate's court. leaders there will have to come up with a compromise to avert the tax hikes and spending cuts set to go into effect during the first of the year. president obama had been working with house speaker john boehner, trying to get a big deal, but talks fell apart. so hopes for that have all but faded, the president conceding he would accept a smaller measure as long as it includes taxes going up on the wealthiest americans. if the country goes over the cliff, economists warn it could be dire. the average american would wind up paying about $2,000 more in taxes and eventually, savannah, if we go over the cliff and stay there, the economy could dip back into recession. now, lawmakers are also headed back to d.c. in fact, the senate is back in session tomorrow. savannah? >> short holiday. lot of work to do. kristen welker in honolulu. thank you. willie? >>> former president george h.w. bush spent his christmas in a hospital after a series of setbacks delayed his release. janet shamli

's political theater or they have a deal. my bet is it's theater. >> reporter:speakerjohnboehnerhasn'tbeen able to get them to budge on a deal to raise taxes and the name calling is getting ugly. >> the american people i don't think understand the house of representatives is operating without the house of representatives. it's being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker, not allowing the vast majority of the house of representatives to get what they want. >> reporter: and it's true the senate controlled by democrats is working this week, but they're not working on the fiscal cliff. and the house won't even be back to work until sunday, just two days before the year-end deadline. then there is also the milk fiscal cliff. have you heard of that one? if congress does not pass a new farm bill by january 1st, milk prices could nearly double some say to as much as about $7 a gallon. they have until the first to get that done or milk prices go up and with the fiscal cliff, massive tax increases and spending cuts. that's the latest here at the white house, back to you. >> thank you, sherri.

's also a busy day because in washington, the 113th congress is going to be swornin.johnboehnerelectedto his second term as house speaker. if everybody can play nice and solve the country's problems, not just right now with the fiscal cliff, but in the new year when a whole host of other issues come to visit us. so, with the new year just days away but the change of the calendar year comes lots of changes in state laws. here's what we're going to be looking at, here's a look at what will be legal and illegal in the new year. >> well, alison, some laws made headlines. gay marriage was passed in maryland and maine and the recreational use of marijuana was passed in colorado and washington state. wait, there's more. much more. let's start with the laws that take effect on january 1st. so, in illinois and california, employers may no longer force their employees to post their accounts. speaking of job seekers, let's check out oregon. employers are not allowed to advertise a job listing in that state unless they are willing to hire the unemployed. in iowa, arsenic is banned in chicken feed

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